DP World Signs Lease Option for Corpus Christi Container Terminal, Marking US Return

DP World has signed a lease option agreement with the Port of Corpus Christi, Texas, to develop a container terminal with eventual annual capacity of about 1 million twenty-foot equivalent units, the port's chief strategy officer said on Sept. 29. The project would mark the Dubai-based operator's return to U.S. container terminal operations two decades after Congress blocked its 2006 acquisition of P&O's U.S. port leases over national security concerns. DP World would design, build and operate the terminal under a long-term lease. Corpus Christi, currently a non-container port, is seeking to diversify a cargo base weighted toward crude oil, LNG and refined products. It recently acquired roughly 2,000 acres south of its Inner Harbor for an inland port linked to three Class I railroads and interstate highways. The port moved a record 110.3 million tons through the Corpus Christi Ship Channel in the first half of 2026, up 7.7% year over year. DP World handles about 10% of global container traffic across more than 60 terminals.